Different type of "reboot" problem!

Well, I did the all zeros and it still showed all the spare sectors are used. I can call WD and see just what drive they will send me. I mean, I do not believe they have any NEW WD10EARS drives left.

As you said, even if writing zeros did somewhat help, it would be hard to ever trust this drive again, and by then it would be out of warranty, so I sort of have nothing to loose if they send me a drive that will work in the THD!

Well, I did the all zeros and it still showed all the spare sectors are used. I can call WD and see just what drive they will send me. I mean, I do not believe they have any NEW WD10EARS drives left.

As you said, even if writing zeros did somewhat help, it would be hard to ever trust this drive again, and by then it would be out of warranty, so I sort of have nothing to loose if they send me a drive that will work in the THD!

I can see what they say, but I am not sure what that will buy me. Here is why. I want a P4, and that drive would be great. However, if I put it in my THD, and take it out and then use it in a P4, selling the THD would get me back to the "is it worth it to just sell it as a lifetime 160GB unit" question.

Still, it can not hurt to ask. Keep in mind that <$100 is easy online anyway.

I can see what they say, but I am not sure what that will buy me. Here is why. I want a P4, and that drive would be great. However, if I put it in my THD, and take it out and then use it in a P4, selling the THD would get me back to the "is it worth it to just sell it as a lifetime 160GB unit" question.

Still, it can not hurt to ask. Keep in mind that <$100 is easy online anyway.

I will call them now!

Film @11 as they say on the T and V.

Click to expand...

Lifetime will do a lot more for the resale value than what kind or size of drive is in it.

Lifetime will do a lot more for the resale value than what kind or size of drive is in it.

Click to expand...

Yes, so a 1TB vs. a 2TB would not matter. When I get the 1TB WD10EARS, I will have to study the WinMFS info again. It has been so long since I did all 3 of my THD's. I still have the .exe I got 1/22/09 and assume it is current. I forgot how I registered on the site. I had heard that it was not required any more but I guess it is.

OH, it has been a week and the other 2 THD's still do not call the BEDROOM THD anything but that DVR-BE45 type of name. I will not bother with fixing it until I put my "new" (recert) WD10EARS in.

After all of the above, WDC sent me an email giving the s/n of my replacement drive. I still do not have any ship status, but do have the new s/n and model of the replacement drive.

SO, I was told that for FREE I would get a WD10EARS, but they are sending me a WD20EZRX!

I assume that is OK. Not sure if I still need wdidle3 and AAM software.
However, since I now have my ORIGINAL Tivo drive running fine with the latest SW and guide info, etc, can I now use WINMFS to get 300+ hours instead of the 1TB 157 hrs? Will WINMFS let me use the extra space on the 2TB drive they are sending since the source now will be a normal untouched 160GB Tivo drive? I would use the 2 drive method and have it copy the few shows that are on the 160GB drive.

After all of the above, WDC sent me an email giving the s/n of my replacement drive. I still do not have any ship status, but do have the new s/n and model of the replacement drive.

SO, I was told that for FREE I would get a WD10EARS, but they are sending me a WD20EZRX!

I assume that is OK. Not sure if I still need wdidle3 and AAM software.
However, since I now have my ORIGINAL Tivo drive running fine with the latest SW and guide info, etc, can I now use WINMFS to get 300+ hours instead of the 1TB 157 hrs? Will WINMFS let me use the extra space on the 2TB drive they are sending since the source now will be a normal untouched 160GB Tivo drive? I would use the 2 drive method and have it copy the few shows that are on the 160GB drive.

Click to expand...

If the source drive has been updated to version 11.0k of the TiVo software (which has been out for a couple of years now), then you can use WinMFS to copy anything smaller than 2TB to a 2TB and expand.

My concern is the particular model they're giving you, as it's a newer one, and I don't know if the 4k sectors advanced format thing and the 6Gb/s thing will interfere with it working in a TiVo that came out when drives were 512 sector and 1.5Gb/s.

You can (laboriously) search this site for WD drives with Z and/or X in the model name to see if anyone else has anything good or bad to say about them for TiVos.

Of course you could always use that drive in a newer PC to store shows copied from your TiVo(s) and get a WD20EURS, available for $95 'til April 1st at newegg.

If the source drive has been updated to version 11.0k of the TiVo software (which has been out for a couple of years now), then you can use WinMFS to copy anything smaller than 2TB to a 2TB and expand.

My concern is the particular model they're giving you, as it's a newer one, and I don't know if the 4k sectors advanced format thing and the 6Gb/s thing will interfere with it working in a TiVo that came out when drives were 512 sector and 1.5Gb/s.

You can (laboriously) search this site for WD drives with Z and/or X in the model name to see if anyone else has anything good or bad to say about them for TiVos.

Of course you could always use that drive in a newer PC to store shows copied from your TiVo(s) and get a WD20EURS, available for $95 'til April 1st at newegg.

I see if I put a jumper on pins 5-6 it Forces SATA3 (or II if that is how you track it), so that should be fine. Also, wasn't the WD10EARS also advanced format 4k sectors? I can, at least, let everyone know if this does work as it is a new drive model.

I see if I put a jumper on pins 5-6 it Forces SATA3 (or II if that is how you track it), so that should be fine. Also, wasn't the WD10EARS also advanced format 4k sectors? I can, at least, let everyone know if this does work as it is a new drive model.

Click to expand...

Well, there's advanced format and then there's advanced format.

Some of the 4k sector drives, mostly the first ones when the changeover started, are capable of presenting themselves to the outside world as 512 byte sector drives, but some of the newer ones don't do that and I don't know what the ZRXs do.

And I don't know if TiVos know how to deal with that or not.

The annoying part is that 4k sectors were only needed for drives bigger than 2TB in the first place, so making 2TB and under drives "AF" is just an unneccessary booby trap.

You could also grab one of those EURSs while they're available and keep it on hand in case you need a new drive for any other S3 or newer TiVo's.

Well they do have an align tool to fix this but I suppose that if I try to just use it I will see if it works. If not, I can always just do the align and use it in my eSATA box for my XP systems, as there is a 1TB in there now.. As you said, worst case is that I keep the 160GB drive in the Bedroom and sell it that way when I do get P4's. The fact that they are lifetime is what counts anyway!

Some of the 4k sector drives, mostly the first ones when the changeover started, are capable of presenting themselves to the outside world as 512 byte sector drives, but some of the newer ones don't do that and I don't know what the ZRXs do.

And I don't know if TiVos know how to deal with that or not.

The annoying part is that 4k sectors were only needed for drives bigger than 2TB in the first place, so making 2TB and under drives "AF" is just an unneccessary booby trap.

You could also grab one of those EURSs while they're available and keep it on hand in case you need a new drive for any other S3 or newer TiVo's.

My concern is the particular model they're giving you, as it's a newer one, and I don't know if the 4k sectors advanced format thing and the 6Gb/s thing will interfere with it working in a TiVo that came out when drives were 512 sector and 1.5Gb/s.

You can (laboriously) search this site for WD drives with Z and/or X in the model name to see if anyone else has anything good or bad to say about them for TiVos.

Of course you could always use that drive in a newer PC to store shows copied from your TiVo(s) and get a WD20EURS, available for $95 'til April 1st at newegg.

Click to expand...

Unitron,

The WD20EURS is an advanced format drive as well with a 3Gb/s SATA interface. The 6Gb/s interface should negotiate down.

Scott, I was planning to add the jumper to force 3Gb/s. It can not hurt. I can then put this WD20EZRX in and try wdidle3 /D and also enable AAM.

At that point, since my stock 160GB Tivo drive is updated with the current Software, etc, should I answer YES when it asks if I want to expand as it sees a 2 TB drive? I believe that the 1.26 GB limit has now been resolved with the current 11.0k Software.

Scott, I was planning to add the jumper to force 3Gb/s. It can not hurt. I can then put this WD20EZRX in and try wdidle3 /D and also enable AAM.

At that point, since my stock 160GB Tivo drive is updated with the current Software, etc, should I answer YES when it asks if I want to expand as it sees a 2 TB drive? I believe that the 1.26 GB limit has now been resolved with the current 11.0k Software.

Click to expand...

Do the expansion separately with mfsadd.

Copy from the 160, which will be the first drive you selected when you clicked select drive.

When it finishes copying, tell it no when it offers to expand.

Then click select drive again, and this time select the 2TB drive.

Then click mfsinfo and make sure nothing looks horribly wrong (it should show a huge Apple Free partition in the partition map), then back out of that and click mfsadd.

Careful with NewEgg. I asked their Customer Service about how they will ship this drive and was told it does NOT come in a small cardboard box from WD (where the drive is secured by two plastic end caps). Rather, it will be tossed (my word) into a box with some peanuts where it can bounce around all the way to your home. Of course, if it's DOA they'll replace it, but it's the latent damage that concerns me.

I'd pay Amazon $15 more to have the drive packaged and shipped properly.

Careful with NewEgg. I asked their Customer Service about how they will ship this drive and was told it does NOT come in a small cardboard box from WD (where the drive is secured by two plastic end caps). Rather, it will be tossed (my word) into a box with some peanuts where it can bounce around all the way to your home. Of course, if it's DOA they'll replace it, but it's the latent damage that concerns me.

I'd pay Amazon $15 more to have the drive packaged and shipped properly.

Click to expand...

It is funny that Newegg does this. As you can see from this thread, WDC is sending me a replacement drive. They warn that even the "bad" drive has to be shipped as follows.

All products require stable and sufficient packing material, needed to protect the product from ESD (Electro Static Discharge) influences and possible damage during transport. Required Packaging Steps:
A. Place drive in ESD (Electro Static Discharge) Bag (For internal drives only.)
B. Wrap with 2 inches of bubble wrap or non-movable foam cushioning
C. Place in sturdy cardboard box. Do not use chipboard, as it is not strong enough to withstand the rigors of transit. Please make sure the corrugated carton is free from defects and is structurally sound. Note: Returning a WD hard drive in an envelope, will void the warranty.

I have gotten drives from Newegg and Amazon and am surprised at the way Newegg shipps the drive!

In theory I suppose you could supersize the 160, and that would carry over in the copying, just like cable card pairings, Season Passes, etc.

Click to expand...

I will save it for last then. I believe I will leave the new HDD alone when it comes to the Align software that WD provides. It seems to be an XP issue anyway and I have not seen that anyone has even had an issue with it in a TIVO. If not aligned, it only slows down XP, it does not cause a failure. I will, however, jumper pins 5-6 to force 3Gb/sec on this 6 Gb/sec drive.

Careful with NewEgg. I asked their Customer Service about how they will ship this drive and was told it does NOT come in a small cardboard box from WD (where the drive is secured by two plastic end caps). Rather, it will be tossed (my word) into a box with some peanuts where it can bounce around all the way to your home. Of course, if it's DOA they'll replace it, but it's the latent damage that concerns me.

I'd pay Amazon $15 more to have the drive packaged and shipped properly.

Click to expand...

I recently bought a hard drive from Newegg.
Mine came in a sealed anti static bag, nested in plastic end caps in a properly sized hard cardboard box, inside a larger box filled with wadded up brown paper.
I guess it's a good thing the UPS employees didn't substitute my package for a football.